Heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems have been employed in residential, commercial, and industrial building and structures to help control the indoor environment, conserve energy and to maintain healthy and comfortable conditions. One system that has been employed is rotary enthalpy exchange wheels. In such a system, indoor and outdoor air streams are fed to an enthalpy wheel to exchange heat and/or moisture between such air streams without substantial intermixture. Rotary enthalpy wheels exchange both sensible and/or latent heat between air streams in an effort to conserve energy. The transmission of sensible energy involves a change in temperature, whereas latent energy involves the change in energy during a phase transition of a substance. In the context of rotary exchange wheels, latent heat exchange is represented by a change in moisture content between air streams.
A significant portion of energy cost savings can involve the conservation of latent energy. Accordingly, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of latent energy exchange can have a significant impact on improving energy conservation. Rotary enthalpy exchange wheels have generally been employed in large industrial settings due to their ability to handle large airflows. Such systems generally involve a central rotatable wheel having a core capable of receiving cross flowing air streams.